Pulverizing machine



W K. LIGGETT PULVERIZING MACHINE March 22 Filed June 8 L 19.25

Patented Mar. 22, 1927.

UNITED STATES,

PATENT: OFFICE.

WILLIAM K. LIGGETT, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO, ASSIGNOB TO THE JEFFREY MANUFAC- TUBING COMPANY, 01 COLUMBUS, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

PULVEBIZING MACHINE.

Application fled June a, 1928. Serial no. 844,165.

The present invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in pulverizing machines, and particularly to that class of pulverizing machines having an element adapted to revolve at high velocity and provided with a plurality of pivotally mounted radially extending arms adapted to engage and pulverize material, and a casing arranged to receive the material to be pulverized and retain it within the influence of the rapidly revolving arms until it shall be reduced to the desired degree of fineness.

The present machine is designed more particularly to reduce fibrous material, such as sugar cane and the like.

The especial object of this invention. is to provide'in a machine of the class described, improved means for holding materlal within the field of action of the rapldly revolving arms to be pulverized thereby. 1

A further object is to provide adjusting means for said holding means whereby the fineness of the product may be regulated.

These and other objects will be fully disclosed in the following specification, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings of which-- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the preferred embodiment of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross section taken along the line II-II of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a detail of the devices shown 1n Figs. 1 and 2.

Like numerals refer to similar parts in the several figures.

As shown in the drawings my improved pulverizing machine consists of a rotor adapted to revolve at high veloclty about a horizontal axis, and mounted within a casing which .is adapted to confine the material during the process of pulverization. The casing comprises a main supporting frame 1 and a housing 2 which are joined togetheralong the horizontal central plane of the rotor, and which enclose a pulverizing chamber. The main frame 1 consists of a hollow rectangular casting having longitudinally projectin brackets 3 upon which are mounted suitab ejournal bearings 4 in which the shaft 5 of the rotor is journaled. The rotor is of the well known construction comprismg a plurality of discs 6 secured to the shaft 5 and these discs carry the pivot bolts 7 upon which the pulverizing arms 8 are mounted.

When the rotor revolves at high velocity centrifugal force causes the arms 7 to project radially, and their outer ends generate a substantially continuous pulverizing surface 7' upon which material to be ulverizedwill float during the process of p verization.

The housing 2 comprises two end walls 9 to which are secured, in any preferred mannor, the curved back wall 10 of the casing, and the sloping feed plate 11. alon which material may slide into the field 0 action of the pulverizing surface generated by the revolving pulverizing elements. The front wall of the pulverizing chamber consists of a vertically extending plate 12 which is pivotally supported at its upper end upon the tie rod 13 which extends between the upper part of the side walls 9 to secure them in spaced relation. The plate 12 extends downwardly substantially to the central horizontal plane of the rotor, and itsinner face is proteoted by the lining plates 14 and 15 which are preferably made of a highly refractory alloy of iron. The plates 14 and 15 are shaped on their outer faces to closely approach the pulverizing surface 7*, and there by form a throat 16 through which ulverized material may pass. On the p ate 14 there is formed a shelf 17 the upper surface of which lies in a plane extending radially of the rotor, and this shelf acts as an abutment to arrest forward movement of material floating upon the pulverizing surface, and it presents a relatively sharp edge upon which material will be broken by the action of the pulverizing surface. in addition to its disintegration under the action of the pulverizing surface generated by the rotor. It will be seen that the abutment 17 inclines downwardly so that while it will arrest the unpulverized material and support it in position for action by the pulverizing elements 7 the tendency of the arrested mass will be always to feed downwardly into the field of action of the pulverizing surface generated by the elements 7 To the outersurface of the plate 14 are attached two brackets 18 which extend outwardly and downwardly, and are forked at their outer ends to form arms 19 which embrace the adjusting bolts 20, The bolts 20 are formed with two collars 21 adapted to engage the inner and outer surfaces of the arms 19 and the are screw threaded into nuts 22 fixed to t e machine loo radially frame. By manipulation of the bolts 20 the plate 12 may be swung about the pivot rod 13 to move the lining plates 14 and 15 closer to or farther from the pulverizin surface, thereby adjusting the width of the, throat 16 to control the size of the fragments of the product. A cover plate 23 attached to the end walls 9 of the housing, closes the forward part of the pulyerizing chamber and serves to interce t'material which may be thrown m the pulverizing surface. A grating 24. preferably composed of the longitudinally extending bars 25 is arranged below and in close proximity with the rotor and acts to retain material within the influence of the pulverizing surface until it is fully pulverized.

In operation fibrous material, such as sugar cane, ensilage, and the like, is fed through the opening 26, into the pulverizing chamber, and slides down the feed plate 11 to the pulverizing surface 7" upon which it floats, and by which it is carried forward to contact with the abutment 17. Fragments are then ground off of the mass by the pulverizing surface .7, carried through the throat 16 and are discharged between the grate bars 25. The size of the fragments thus ground off will vary with the width of the throat 16, and the character of the prod uct may be varied by the adjustment of the plate 14 towards or from the rotor.

From the foregoing it will be seen that a pulverizing machine, capable of handling fibrous and other materials,'-is provided, in which the mass of the material is maintained abovethe rotor and subjected to the pulverizing action of the reducing elements as the rotor revolves, without any danger of unpulverized material passing through the machine. The means for arresting the unpulverized material is so disposed that the material naturally gravitates to it. and the arresting means in turn naturally directs the unpulverized material to the rotor for further action. The throat formed by the curved face is so disposed relative to the rotor that only material which has been sufiidiently pulverized will "pass, and the means for adjusting the abutment and throat form- 3 ing face enables me to adapt themachine to produce various sizes of material.

What I claim 1s:-

I 1. In a machineof the class described, the

combination of a rotor provided with pulverizing elements which generate a substantially continuous pulverizing surface when the rotor is at speed; a casing of substantially cylindrical form closely surrounding the major part of said rotor; a combined hopper and pulverizing chamber above said casing with the hopper portion disposed on the upwardly advancing side and the pulverizing chamber on the downwardly advancing side of said rotor, said pulverizing chamber having a substantially vertical wall tangentially disposed relative to the path of rotation of said pulverizing elements; an abutment at the lower end of said vertical wall substantially filling the throat between the tangentially vertical wall and said rotor, to intercept the downwardly gravitating, unpulverized material and prevent its passing through the machine; and means to adjust said abutment.

2. In a machine of the class dcscrilwd, the combination of a rotor provided with pulverizingelements which generate a substantially continuous pulverizing surface when the rotor is at speed; a casing of substantially cylindrical form closely surrounding the major part of said, rotor; a combined hopper and pulverizing chamber above said casing with the hopper portion disposed on the upwardly advancing side and the pulverizing chamber on' the downwardly advancing side of said rotor, said pulverizing chamber having a substantially vertical wall tangentially disposed relative to the path of rotation of said pulverizing elements, means for adjusting said wall toward and from the path of rotation of said pulverizing elements, and an abutment at the lower end of said vertical wall substantially filling the throat between the tangentially vertical wall and said rotor, to intercept the downwardly gravitating, unpulverized material and prevent its passing through the machine.

3. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a rotor provided with pulverizing elements which generate a substantially continuous pulverizing surface when the rotor is at speed; a casing of substantially cylindrical form closely surrounding the ma or part of said rotor; a combined hopper and pulverizing chamber above said casing with the hopper portion disposed on the upwardly advancing side and the pulverizing chamber on the downwardly advancing side of said rotor, said pulverizing chamber having a substantially vertical wall tangentially disposed relative to the path of rotation of said pulverizing elements; a swing mounting at the top of said wall; means for adjusting said wall .on its swing mounting; and an abutment having a downwardly inclined upper face and a curved face below said inclined face closely adjacent the path of said pulverizing elements to fill the throat between the tangentially vertical wall and said rotor, to intercept the downwardly .gravit-ating, unpulverized ma terial and prevent its passing through the machine.

4. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a pulverizing rotor, a screen casing closely surrounding a major part of said rotor and having a pulverizing chamber, throat filling means at the forward side of said chamber to arrest and return to and means to adjust sai the pulverizing rotor un ulverized material, d material arresting means to and from the rotor.

5. In a machine combination ofa pulverizing rotor, a screen casing closely surrounding a major part of said rotor and having a pulverizing chamber above said rotor, a throat filling abutment at the far side of the chamber having an upper surface inclinedtoward the rotor to arrest and return unpulverized material to the rotor, a cuved face below said inclined sur-v face closely adjacent the path of the rotor to form a throat for pulverized material, and means for adjusting said abutment and said curved face relative to said rotor.

6. In a machine of the class described, the combination of the pulverizing rotor, a screen casing closely surrounding a major part of said rotor and having a pulverizing chamber above said rotor, a movable wall at the far side of said chamber, a throat filling abutment pro ecting inwardly from said movable wall and having an upper surface inclined toward the rotor to arrest and return un ulverized material to said rotor, a curved Face below said inclined surface arranged close to the path of rotation of said of the class described, the

, throat for the rotor to form a material, and means for adjusting said movable wall relative to said rotor- 7 In a machine of the class described, the combination of a pulverizing rotor, a screen casing closely surrounding a major part of said rotor and having a pulverizing chamber entirely above said rotor provided with a feed opening, a top for said chamber to prevent material being thrown out by the rotor, a pivoted wall at the far side of said chamber, a throat filling abutment projecting inwardly from said wall at a point below the top .ofsaid rotor and provided with 2 surface inclined inwardly toward said rotor to arrest and return unpulverized material to said rotor, a curved face below said inclined surface to form with said rotor at pulverized material, and. adusting means mounted on the wall of the casing and engaging the lower end of said pivoted wall to vary the position of said we abutment and curved face relative to said rotor. p

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

WILLIAM K. LIGGETT.

throat .for the pulverized 

